Sister Alissa Van Valkenburg Mission Blog: October 2,2017 Email :D

GENERAL CONFERENCE WAS AMAZIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!!!!

Sorry about the long title! It's how I feel! :) Haha!

Oh I am just on cloud 9 this week!! We have had such an amazing week full of miracles!! It has really grown my testimony to see how much Heavenly Father truly blesses us when we are about His errand!! During my stay here in Victoria, we haven't had too much success in finding new people to teach, or even keeping our teaching pool moving forward. BUT we have been working our tails off to move this work forward! As our ward mission plan moves forward, we are also focusing on new ways of finding new people to teach!

Heavenly Father truly blessed us to see the fruits of our labors this week!! I have compiled a list of miracles!! (though some, I will admit, are not completely related to missionary work)

Miracle 1: We went on exchanges, and though I haven't ridden a bike in quite literally YEARS....I was able to go bike riding for our workout!! I am honestly amazed that I was able to get back home! haha!

Miracle 2: When we were on exchanges, Sister Giles and Sister Avila were able to set a BAPTISMAL DATE with our sweet investigator, Julie! I am so excited for her and her sweet children!! Though she is the only one on date now, I'm sure that her kids will soon follow! It fills my heart with so much joy when people step closer and closer to Jesus Christ!!

Miracle 3: This actually happened a couple weeks ago, but we got a referral from church headquarters!! A lady called and was having a bad day, and then ended up asking for missionaries to come see her! We, of course, responded instantly! Haven't been able to get in contact for a couple of weeks...but we did this week!! It was amazing!! We went to her door and she answered, instantly welcoming us in!! She is so open to learn and is so excited to attend church!! She has grown up around LDS members and just knows that what she needs right now, she is going through a messy divorce, is God! I am so grateful for the MIRACLE of being able to teach her!!

Miracle 4: Members are calling us to feed us meals!! Like what?!? That's a miracle and a half! ;)

Miracle 5: We were able to meet with our sweet investigator, Frances, who is going through a lot financially. She was talking to us about the Book of Mormon. We didn't know anything about how her reading was going the past week...and were surprised to hear this amazing testimony come out of her! She said that through the struggles that she is facing, she is finding peace through the Book of Mormon!! She hugs it and prays, or randomly opens it to find a verse or two and instantly can feel the peace and love that only Heavenly Father can send her through the Holy Ghost! She recognizes that feeling, and longs for it every day! It draws her back to the Book of Mormon and to church! The spirit was so strong as she told of her feelings and experiences!! I am so grateful that Heavenly Father is able to touch the lives of all of us through the pages of this book! It is truly individually for each and every single one of us!

Miracle 6: We were able to set a baptismal date with Frances for November 11th!! I am so excited for her!!

Miracle 7: Frances again! She came to General Conference with her daughter and granddaughter who are now also in our teaching pool! She is spreading her light for all those around her to partake of the feelings she has from the light of the gospel!! I am so happy!!

Miracle 8: This one is a longer one. This Friday, a woman visiting from Alberta went into a bank here in Victoria. She was talking to the bank teller, Michelle, and the topic of religion somehow came up. "I'm a Mormon" she said. MiChelle said to her, "wow! I've never had a friend that is Mormon." the lady said "Well, you do now!" and gave her her name to add on Facebook. It changed MiChelle's life! She said that it was just the nicest thing for the lady to say that they were friends! She went home and tried to find her on Facebook, but couldn't. So...she figured she would look up "mormon.com" She talked to a wonderful missionary on the phone, who directly called my District Leader. He came to us in person, telling us of this wonderful lady we had to go see as soon as possible! We took off 5 minutes later to see Michelle! She welcomed us with open arms at her door saying "that was fast!" We taught her the message of the Restoration, committed her to read the Book of Mormon, and invited her to be baptized right there! She accepted and is praying about October 28th!! It was amazing!!

Miracle 9: MiChelle came to General Conference for the Saturday Morning session!!

Miracle 10: We have a sweet investigator named Tianna. I shared her amazing story last week! She hung out with us sisters all through the Saturday sessions of conference and in-between!! Such a sweetheart!! She's 13 years old and came by herself to conference!! THAT is a miracle!! :)

Oh there are just so many miracles in our lives every single day, and I am so grateful for the blessing of being here in Victoria to see the hand of God in every aspect of my life! Sometimes we don't see it right away, but I know that as we look back, we can always see how He has moved the chess pieces right where they needed to be! I love my Savior and am so grateful for all that He has done, and continues to do, for me! I'm so grateful for the knowledge that we have about the great Plan of Redemption that we are all able to partake of! I'm grateful for each and every on e of you and the blessings that you are in my life!! Keep smiling! Keep serving! Keep loving with all your hearts!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg